Talofa Airways (Apia Faleolo) has taken delivery of its third aircraft, a nine-seater Aero Twin Commander 690B registered as N2160 (msn 11405). The 1977-build turboprop will start flying for Talofa once it is entered into the Samoan aircraft registry.
ADS-B data shows the aircraft ferried from Merced Regional (California) to Apia via Honolulu and Kiritimati earlier this month. The aircraft joins Talofa's existing Aero Commanders - 5W-JMJ (msn 11411) and 5W-LOR (msn 11485), which currently operate on the short hops between Samoa and American Samoa. Open source data indicate that N2160 has been registered in Venezuela, Panama, and the United States. Most recently, it appears to have spent some time in storage.
Talofa Airways was founded in 2016 by Jeffrey Hunter, an Apia-based businessman who remains the airline's chairman and CEO and who helped pilot N2160 to Apia. According to Talofa's website, the airline operates up to eight scheduled roundtrips per day between Apia Faleolo and Pago Pago, two roundtrips per week between Apia Faleolo and Vava'u, and Pago Pago and Vava'u. With the additional aircraft, Hunter told local outlets he intends to resume services between Apia Faleolo and Tongatapu, which Tafola formerly operated but stopped due to Covid-19. He also said there were no plans to fly out of the recently re-opened Apia Fagali'i Airport until its runway is extended.
Talofa Airways did not respond to ch-aviation inquiries concerning its third aircraft.
